Last year there were rumors kicking around about a Disney park being built in Shanghai. At this time, there’s still no solid plans to get Mickey and friends a passport, but there are some other fictional characters looking to call China home in 2010. The stories of Hans Christian Andersen are set to come alive in a theme park that would open just in time for the 2010 Word Expo. The park will begin to welcome guests on May 11—the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Denmark.

The park certainly won’t be the biggest and best theme park, but 20 acres will be dedicated to characters from stories like the Little Mermaid and the Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s important to remember that there’s no fresh crab sidekick in Andersen’s story of a girl under the sea, so if you’re looking for Ariel, you’ll just have to wait until Disney builds their park. The ride and attraction details are lacking at this point, so we don’t know if the Ugly Duckling will be making an appearance in roller coaster form.

Denmark—the storyteller’s native land—seems to be pretty excited about all of this, and the country is going to donate a replica of an Andersen statue that sits outside Copenhagen city hall. They are also shipping the Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen to China to be part of Denmark’s pavilion at the World Expo. So if you have a trip scheduled for Denmark in 2010, you might want to connect in Shanghai, just so you can get a picture with the Little Mermaid.